Industrial Performance (IP) Supervisor

At Russell Stover, not only do we love chocolate, but we love our jobs! Every day we go to work exhibiting our values of excellence, innovation, entrepreneurship, responsibility, and collaboration. Working at Russell Stover you’ll be part of the leading manufacturer of boxed, seasonal, and sugar-free chocolates. For over 100 years, Russell Stover Chocolates, Whitman’s, and Pangburn’s have been crafted with the finest ingredients to bring happiness to generations. Today, we produce over 55 million pounds of chocolate annually, and our legacy brands can be found in 13 company-owned stores and over 9,000 wholesale accounts. Join our team and let’s continue making chocolate lovers happy!

A day in the life…

As the Industrial Performance (IP) Supervisor is the catalyst for change in our Abilene, KS Manufacturing Plant. This role drives relentless performance improvement through our LPW (Lindt Production Way) Operational Excellence Program execution. This role works collaboratively with Engineering, Production Planning, Human Resources, EH&S, Finance, Logistics, Procurement and QA/R&D to improve the organization by supporting performance driven people development.

What you will be doing…

• Leadership & Culture – Provide operational support to ensure the factory focuses on top priorities. Actively lead, coach, and develop teams to be effective in their roles.
• Performance Measurement & Tracking – Measure performance and prioritize losses in areas such as Resources Utilization, Bottlenecks, Transformation Cost, Production Variances, Delivery, and Productivity. Utilize performance tracking systems to monitor manufacturing performance and take appropriate actions.
• Objective Setting & Improvement Planning – Collaborate with the IP Manager and site management team to determine objectives for improvement teams, activities, and deliverables.
• Loss Eradication & Operational Standards – Apply, spread, and teach methods for loss eradication and reduction. Regularly review operational standards including waste, rework, over usage, labor, routings, nominal speeds, OEE, and TE.
• Standards Database & Best Practices – Utilize the manufacturing standards database to maintain consistency and accuracy. Identify and implement best practices from other departments and plants to create performance gaps.
• Change & Improvement Management – Manage change and improvement initiatives effectively. Support the IP manager with strategy execution and provide LPW support.
• Improvement Team Support – Assess the quality and speed of LPW improvement teams in collaboration with the IP Manager. Assist in improving team leaders in the correct application of methodologies.
• Knowledge Management & People Development – Promote the exchange of information and best practices to support knowledge management and people development.

Do you have what it takes?
(Basic Qualifications)

• Minimum of 3 years in a manufacturing environment.
• Functional knowledge of lean manufacturing principles
• Knowledge of financial analysis
• Knowledge of SAP or other ERP systems
• Strong computer literacy in MS and integrated systems

Do you stand above the rest?
(Preferred Qualifications)

• 5 years in a manufacturing environment
• Good organization, planning, and analytical problem-solving skills
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Solid written and verbal communication skills.
• Demonstrated ability to work without close supervision and maintain high level of motivation
• Ability to effectively communicate ideas, concepts and procedures.
• Charismatic, leader of people without hierarchical power.
• Conflict and change management skills.
• Strong interpersonal skills, able to proactively engage dialogue and communication to reach resolutions with employees at all levels of the organization.
• Ability to set priorities, be self-disciplined and consistent.
• Ability to develop and implement action steps and follow through
• Ability to efficiently work independently or in a team environment.

At Russell Stover Chocolates, we don’t just accept difference — we celebrate it, we support it, and we thrive on it for the benefit of our employees, our products, and our community. Russell Stover Chocolates is proud to be an equal-opportunity workplace and is an affirmative action employer.

We provide equal employment opportunities to all people without regard to race, color, national origin, ancestry, citizenship, age, religion, gender, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, marital status, pregnancy, physical or mental disability, protected medical condition, genetic information, military service, veteran status, or any other status or characteristic protected by law.

Employment by Russell Stover Chocolates is contingent upon I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification, passing the urinalysis drug screen, education verification, and satisfactory reference and background checks.

Make Happy. Work Happy.